People walk the rainbow bridge in memory of their pets

LAFAYETTE TWP. — Dozens of pet owners remembered their pets who have died over the years by walking across a rainbow bridge at Buckeye Woods Park on Sunday. The concept of a rainbow bridge is based on a poem where an owner and a pet happily reunite with each other after death. The Rainbow Bridge Walk has been taking place in Medina County for more than 10 years. As part of the event, participants wrote a tribute to their pet on a green note card and attached the card to a piece of twine. The twine was strung across a bridge that crosses the lake at Buckeye Woods Park. Then, the attendees walked across that bridge while Medina High School band member Jacob Thompson performed "Over the Rainbow" on his trumpet. Sunday's event featured other memorial activities, such as a reading of the rainbow bridge poem and a performance of an original song. Attendees were also encouraged to bring their current pets to the ceremony. "It's a memorial, but it's also a celebration of life," Rainbow Bridge Walk Founder Char Arthur said. "It's a celebration of the love that we shared with our special pets." St. Francis Xavier Church Deacon Bob Cavanaugh said a prayer and blessed the pets in attendance. He said people can learn a lot from their pets. For instance, people should appreciate the simple joys in life. "Our ability to love is infinite as human beings, and our need to drive the loss of anything or anyone we love is infinite as well," he said. "You don't get over something or someone you love. You learn to live without it." The Rainbow Bridge Walk started after the death of Arthur's first dog. She said a couple of months later she went to an Alzheimer's walk and found the experience to be a powerful way for people in a similar situation to support one another. "I researched to see how has it been done before," she said. "I was astonished that is hadn't, which was fine because it gave me a place for my grief to go by spending time putting it together." Since then, the event has grown, she said. Volunteers helped to run the event. It is important to bring people together in an event like this because sometimes people feel like others cannot understand or relate to their grief for a pet, Arthur said. At the Rainbow Bridge Walk, everyone knows how that feels. "I had a friend once who was helping out, and she said, 'When people come, a lot of them look kind of sad, but when they leave it's like something has been lifted,'" she said. "It's just having a time to say thank you to your pet and do that among people." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.